Just as digital transformation is affecting entire industries, it is also affecting specific job functions. As a study by EY* cites:
“Where once [finance’s] remit was predominantly that of a reporting function that focused on balancing the books, it will become a data-driven decision-center. Technology will play an increasingly significant role in executing many traditional finance tasks while at the same time generating greater insight. Meanwhile, finance people will spend a greater proportion of their time working with colleagues across the organization to make decisions in support of the strategy.”
It is with this shift that finance—or more broadly, anyone on the dollars and cents side of the business—is entering the buying process for IT solutions like those offered by cloud providers and managed service providers (MSPs).
Historically there has been tension between finance and IT. IT is eager to make investments to optimize their efficiency and performance, which can—and often does—lead to runaway cloud spend in AWS or otherwise. For finance, IT seems to become a more and more massive black box of spend with little visibility or control. And while finance is becoming a stronger decision maker when choosing IT services, they have little information with which to gauge the promised ROI and outcomes of these solutions.
So how do we bridge the gap between these departments, allowing them to work together to achieve the larger goals of the organization?
It Starts with The Right Partner
Enterprises should look for an MSP that will act as a bridge between the IT and finance departments, and other critical areas of the business, instead of automatically favoring the opinion of IT. At Unitas Global, we work with all stakeholders to create an environment that gives finance the visibility and the necessary degree of control over IT spend, while at the same time giving IT the resources they need to perform optimally. Our team is an equal mix of professionals on the business side as well as engineers. We are intimately familiar with the struggles between these parties, and know how to design solutions that overcome them for our clients.
Unitas provides a number of services that create harmony between finance and IT.
Cloud Advisory
Knowing where you are in your journey makes it easier to reach your ideal destination. The Unitas cloud advisory process begins with an assessment of the people, processes, and systems the comprise your current technology landscape. From there, we work with you to create a custom roadmap and implementation plan to get your IT where it needs to be. We guide you every step of the way.
Cloud Connectivity
Another way Unitas bridges the gap between IT and finance is through cloud connectivity. 50% of organizations identify cloud networking challenges as the primary inhibitor to cloud adoption.** In this complex and fragmented market, network carriers choices can be completely overwhelming.
Unitas simplifies and streamlines cloud connectivity. With our award-winning connectivity service, we can perform a practical assessment of your current connectivity spend across your portfolio. From there we utilize our automated platform to help you find the most cost effective, efficient, and reliable connection from your location to the core cloud network.
With cloud connectivity from Unitas, you will receive ongoing, end-to-end visibility of your entire network and your cloud, together. With a more efficient connectivity solution, IT gets the faster, more reliable connection they need in order to work on their applications, while finance receives the cost savings and ongoing visibility on their end of the business.
Conclusion
Cloud strategy is no longer solely the responsibility of IT. Cloud strategy is integral to an enterprise’s overall business strategy. At Unitas, we equip finance with the knowledge they need to make educated decisions when it comes to technology, and we provide IT with the resources they require to do their best work. When all departments across the enterprise are aligned and empowered to implement their IT strategy, it enables everyone to do their jobs more effectively, leading to greater business outcomes.
The opportunity for ROI on cloud IT strategy is immense when you have the right partner. Interested in partnering with Unitas for cloud advisory or connectivity services? Click here to set up a free discovery call.
*Source: EY.(2016). Is the future of finance new technology or new people?
**Source: 451 Research
